The 2020 Republican National Convention will be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, by default.

No other city offered a bid for it. The Nevada Republican Party submitted a bid to hold the convention in Las Vegas, but the city government and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority were notably absent from the proposal.

Even Charlotte almost backed out.

At its July 16 meeting, the City Council voted 6-5 in favor of making the bid after about 100 members of the public offered arguments for and against it. Mayor Vi Lyles made a point of saying that “hosting the RNC is not an endorsement of the administration.”

The Republican National Committee made no comment other than to quickly approve the award of the 2020 convention to Charlotte at its meeting in Austin, Texas, four days later.

Pat McCrory, a Republican and the former mayor of Charlotte for 14 years, blamed “the far left of the Democratic party” for the political pressure on cities to reject hosting the RNC convention.

He said “any sign of support” for the event “can be seen as a political suicide from the political left wing.”

Four Democrats on the City Council joined the two Republicans to support the convention bid. Five Democrats voted no. The Welcome Wagon, it’s not.

Security and cost are concerns for all high-profile events. But issues unique to the Trump presidency were also raised during the months before the bid.

According to newly released documents from closed-session meetings in June, Councilmember LaWana Mayfield asked hard questions about the convention’s impact on the city. “Have we taken into consideration the possible impact of boycotting?” she asked. “Have you looked at negative media coverage?”

A member of the local host committee promised that there would be a “robust PR team to address that.”

In the meantime, preparations and fundraising have begun.

The host committee is hoping to raise $70 million to cover the $64 million budget of the event, with something left over for unexpected expenses.

The framework agreement says Charlotte will be in charge of security, permits and transportation and will receive a $50 million federal grant to cover all security costs.

In the event that the grant doesn’t come through for any reason, the host committee has agreed to reimburse the city for whatever it spends on security, except for equipment that local law enforcement decides to keep.

Charlotte hosted the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which didn’t run into any boycotting problems, but did run a little short of funds.

Organizers said caps on personal contributions and restrictions on corporate donations were the reason the host committee came up $10 million short of its goal and had to borrow $8 million from Duke Energy, $6 million of which has not been paid back.

There are no restrictions on corporate sponsorships for the Republican convention, but the threat of boycotts might cause some companies to stay away.

The statements by Democrats at the Charlotte City Council meeting hold hints of what we’re likely to hear as the convention draws closer.

President Donald Trump, said council member Braxton Winston, is “an avatar of white supremacy.”

Remember when political conventions were so boring that the networks didn’t even bother to televise them until Day Four? Simpler times.

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